Clinician, Community-Based

Center for Justice Innovation; New York, Northern (NY, KY); Hybrid; USD 61,000 - 79,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Flexible spending accounts (FSA)

Talkspace Counseling

Ginger Mental Health Support

403(b) retirement plan

Job summary

The Center for Justice Innovation in Brooklyn, New York seeks a Community-Based Clinician for the Supervised Release Program (SRP). You will conduct intakes, assessments, crisis intervention, and coordinate voluntary services to support participants' stabilization and court compliance.

Reporting to the Clinical Manager, you’ll provide data entry, attend trainings, and collaborate with judges, attorneys, and service providers to advance safe, fair justice outcomes.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in social work or a mental health field with 3 years direct practice experience; LMSW or license preferred.
• Experience in pretrial, court-based, or criminal legal systems strongly preferred.
• Crisis intervention and de-escalation required.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills.
• Experience with substance use treatment, mental health services, or related co-occurring disorders strongly preferred.
• Trauma-informed and strength-based approaches; Motivational Interviewing and CBT strongly preferred.
• Bilingual (English-Spanish) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Conduct intakes and holistic assessments.
• Create voluntary service and resource plans addressing criminogenic needs.
• Make referrals to address immediate needs.
• Support engagement with referrals and mandatory programming.
• Provide participants with information on court mandates and programming.
• Work with supervisors to submit programming recommendations to court.
• Determine case assignments and facilitate warm handoffs to case managers.
• Facilitate evidence-based sessions to enhance motivation for change.
• Develop and facilitate group and individual programming.
• Provide comprehensive, clinically informed case management services.
• Orchestrate resource allocation and service referrals.
• Monitor compliance with supervision requirements and court attendance.
• Maintain data entry and case documentation.
• Submit reports to court within designated time frames.
• Maintain relationships with court staff, judges, and attorneys.
• Engage in cross-team communication to strengthen programming.
• Attend trainings and participate in staff events as needed.
• Role eligible for clinical hours.
• Note: position involves other relevant tasks as necessary.

Skills

Crisis intervention

De-escalation

Time management

Trauma-informed approach

Motivational Interviewing

CBT

Bilingual

Education

Master's degree in social work or a mental health field

LMSW or mental health license preferred

Job description

The Center for Justice Innovation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community safety and racial justice. Since 1996, we’ve worked alongside communities, courts, and those most directly affected by the justice system to build stronger, healthier, and more equitable neighborhoods. With a team of over 900 staff and an annual budget of $130 million, the Center carries out its mission through three core strategies:

1. Operating Programs that pilot new ideas and address local challenges;
2. Conducting original research to evaluate what works—and what doesn’t; and
3. Providing expert assistance and policy guidance to reformers across the country and beyond.

Backed by decades of on-the-ground experience and nationally recognized expertise, we bring innovative, practical, and lasting solutions to justice systems nationwide.
Learn more about our work at www.innovatingjustice.org.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Brooklyn Justice Initiatives (BJI), the largest operating project of the Center, seeks to re-engineer the experience of criminal court in Brooklyn, New York, by providing judges and attorneys meaningful alternatives to bail, fines, and jail sentences. Operating out of Kings County Criminal Court and community-based offices, BJI is a team of social service providers, court-based resource coordinators, mental health practitioners, compliance specialists, and others who seek to improve the quality of justice. Supervised Release offers an alternative to jail by providing pretrial supervision, case management, and voluntary social services to people charged with misdemeanor and felony offenses, and in doing so, uses an arrest as a window of opportunity to change the direction of a participant’s life, avoiding the harmful effects of incarceration. Program participants are monitored to ensure their appearance at court dates and mandatory programming, and receive referrals to services like job training, drug treatment, and mental health counseling.

BJI seeks Community-Based Clinicians for the borough’s Supervised Release Program (SRP). Reporting to the Clinical Manager, Clinicians are the front line of service delivery and key to ensuring that the program meets its mandate. Clinicians play a key role in providing timely emergency referrals, delivering crisis intervention and de-escalation support, and conducting intakes and assessments for participants. Clinicians also work with participants to identify and address barriers to compliance and court attendance; conduct outreach to participants, court stakeholders, community-based service providers, and collateral contacts; lead cognitive behavioral therapy-informed sessions and other suitable programming; connect participants to appropriate services in the community to support their stabilization; and ensure accurate and timely court reporting on participants’ compliance with program requirements. Accurate and timely data entry is a core responsibility for this position.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Conductintakes and holistic assessments;
  • Createvoluntary service and resource plans that address criminogenic needs and responsivity factors;
  • Makereferrals to address immediate needs;
  • Provideassistance to participants to support engagement with referrals made, as needed; and
  • Provideparticipants with information regarding any additional court mandates, including, but not limited to, mandatory programming and Tactics and Choices class.
• Workwith supervisors to complete and submit mandatory programming recommendations to court;
• Determinecase assignments and facilitatewarm handoffs to case managers:
  • Scheduleparticipants for their first check-in with their assigned case manager;
  • Case conferencewith case managers to discuss participant needs and/or service and resource plans and/or mandatory programming, as appropriate;
• Facilitatemandated and voluntary evidence-based practice sessions to enhance motivation for change and engagement in services;
• Developand facilitategroup and individual programming to address participant needs and court mandates;
• Providecomprehensive, clinically informed case management services:
  • Orchestrateinternal and external resource allocation and service referrals;
  • Workwith participants to identify and address barriers to compliance with supervision requirements and court attendance;
  • Monitorparticipants’ compliance with supervision requirements; and
  • Conductoutreach to participants, their collateral contacts, and defense attorneys to maximize compliance with supervision requirements.
• Providede-escalation and emergency intervention in response to incidents occurring in the courthouse and offices;
• Maintainaccurate and timely data entry and case documentation aligned with the program model, court reporting obligations, and best practices;
• Submitaccurate and timely reports to court within designated time frames, including compliance, noncompliance, rearrest, and mandatory programming court notifications;
• Maintainprofessional, productive, and positive relationships with external stakeholders, including court staff, judges, and attorneys;
• Consistent and effective cross-team communication and collaboration to proactively identify successes, challenges, and opportunities to strengthen programming, create opportunities for meaningful collaboration, and maximize internal and external resources and expertise;
• Participatein individual, group supervision, and regular staff trainings to develop program expertise and related skill sets;
• Attendproject events, community events, and meetings after hours, as needed;
• Please note that this role is eligible for clinical hours;and
• Additional relevant tasks, as necessary.

Qualifications:

• Master's degree in social work or a mental health field and 3 years direct practice (e.g. therapeutic or case management or counseling) experience required, LMSW or mental health license preferred;
• Experience working in pretrial, court-based, or criminal legal system strongly preferred;
• Experience with crisis intervention and de-escalation required;
• Must be detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills;
• Experience working with people needing substance use treatment, mental health services, or other services related to co-occurring disorders, or adolescent development, strongly preferred;
• Experience using trauma-informed and strength-based approaches, Motivational Interviewing and CBT strongly preferred;
• Comprehensive knowledge and experience with local social service providers preferred;
• Must be able to work effectively independently and as part of a highly interdependent, multi-disciplinary team within a fast-paced and dynamic work environment;
• Professional demeanor and ability to work collaboratively and effectively with a variety of program stakeholders, including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, court staff, and site partner agencies;
• Openness to work collaboratively with people from diverse backgrounds in a culturally-competent manner; and
• Bilingual (English-Spanish) preferred.

Position Type:

Full-time in-person work required; weekend and evening hours required, as needed.

Position Location:

Brooklyn, New York.

Compensation:

The compensation range for this position is $61,000 - $78,500 and is commensurate with experience.

Benefits:

The Center for Justice Innovation offers an excellent benefits package including comprehensive healthcare with a national network, free basicdental coverage, vision insurance, short-term and long-term disability, life insurance, and flexible spending accounts including commuter FSA. We prioritize mental health care for our staff and offer services like Talkspace and Ginger through our healthcare plans. We offer a 403(b) retirement plan with a two-to-one employer contribution up to 5%.

Note:

This position is part of the NOLSW, UAW 2320 bargaining unit.

The Center for Justice Innovation is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other category protected by law. We strongly encourage and welcome applications from women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and individuals with prior contact with the criminal justice system. Our goal is to create a supportive and respectful environment where everyone, regardless of background or identity, feels valued and included.

At this time, the Center is unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application and throughout the duration of employment.

Candidates are expected to provide accurate and truthful information throughout the hiring process. Any misrepresentation, falsification, or omission of material facts may result in disqualification from consideration, withdrawal of an offer, or termination of employment, regardless of when discovered.

In compliance with federal law, all hires must verify their identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete the required employment verification form upon hire. Please refer to the job posting for relevant contact information. If contact details are not provided, we kindly ask that you refrain from inquiries via phone or email, as only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.